


Swimming in Circles

by shyfoxes



Category: Free!
Genre: Aquariums, Dorks in Love, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 21:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4452809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyfoxes/pseuds/shyfoxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The “You’re that shitty mackerel vendor that keeps taking my customers but you’re kind of hot” AU. </p><p>Or how Sousuke falls in love with a guy at an aquarium who keeps stealing his customers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming in Circles

Sousuke didn’t have many complaints in the world, considering how bad his luck could be. He hated cinnamon and cold weather, cats made him sneeze, and large crowds tired him out. Regardless, Sousuke usually just let things roll off his back when he could. There was no sense in getting worked up over little things.

What Sousuke  _did_ have an issue with was the mackerel vendor situated across the pavilion from him at the Sano Aquarium stealing his customers. Talk about rude.

The mackerel vendor, a guy that looked to be the same age as Sousuke, 18 or 19, was a slim, blank-faced guy that was currently the bane of Sousuke’s existence. He spoke quietly and drew in customers easily with his stupid pretty face and dainty fingers. Not that Sousuke was noticing, mind you. He sold the most absurd things, too. Sousuke couldn’t understand why out of all the things one could sell, this guy had chosen mackerel. He sold mackerel sandwiches, soups, on a stick, hell it even looked like he was selling candy.

It was absurd how popular he had become in the first week alone. He was too popular for Sousuke’s liking, who had fumbled his way through selling his custom hand made plushies in the first three weeks alone. Rin, his best friend, had said he was too imposing a person for anyone to approach at first glance, though eventually that had all been sorted out the longer he kept the booth open.

But what really grinded Sousuke’s gears was the fact that Mackerel Guy didn’t even have the common courtesy to not truck the kids into eating his funny shaped cake with mackerel baked that he called “Iwatobi-chan Cakes”. Clearly the children were interested in Sousuke’s booth, they had laid eyes on it, but then Mackerel Guy had to go and entice them with his weird shaped food and thwart him. Sousuke had only wanted to earn some money since he couldn’t go to university at the moment. Who did guy think he was blowing Sousuke’s plans out of the water like that? Asshole.

“It’s not funny Rin! It really burns me up. Who does he think he is?” Sousuke grumbled.

Rin only laughed harder. “I can’t believe this. And here I thought  _I_ was your rival. I’m losing to a fish guy,” Rin said, almost choking.

“Keep laughing and I’ll even find someone else to do the handshake with,” Sousuke huffed.

“You wouldn’t dare! Fine, fine. Why not just step your game up, huh? The Sousuke I know would go all out if there was a challenge before him,” Rin said.

“I guess you’re right,” Sousuke mumbled. “…Thanks, Rin.”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell me how it goes, you big dork. This is the best news I’ve heard in the longest time,” Rin said.

Sousuke hung up on him before he could start laughing all over again.

-

The next day when Sousuke was setting up his booth, arranging the stuffed animals in a way that would have made Rin’s clean freak-self proud; he added a sign right between the shiny-eyed blue and green seals that read “for every purchase, get a free charm bracelet!” Sousuke smugly regarded it, hands on his hips. He’d cook up a big dinner for his parents later for their help. Childishly, Sousuke looked over his shoulder to gage Mackerel Guy’s reaction.

Mackerel Guy glanced up at him, glanced at the sign and then turned his back on him. Sousuke clenched his fist, turning away with an annoyed huff. Well, the results would show themselves when the aquarium opened and the kids were flocking to him. Sousuke sat at his stool and waited.

When the first people started to roll into the pavilion, kids’ eyes began to light up looking over at his wares, enamored with their bright colors and the promise of a free gift alongside it. Others also looked towards Mackerel Guy, entertained by the funny shaped cakes he sold. But in the end, the ball was in Sousuke’s court and kids came flocking to wear matching bracelets with their sea creatures. One pair of little girls had bought a matching pair of sharks and showed off their red and blue ones to Sousuke who nodded and took a picture of them with their mother with her phone like she requested. When the time came to pack up, Sousuke couldn’t help but throw a smug smile at his rival’s direction.

The next day though, Mackerel Guy seemed to have caught onto what Sousuke was doing because he was selling a new cake design, “Samezuka-kun”. It looked something like a shark but was even more absurd than Iwatobi-chan with its frills and strange human legs. The kids ate it up, running around the pavilion as they ate the strange confection. Sousuke couldn’t even understand how these people could think eating mackerel cakes was okay. Sousuke had to give it to him, though. He had one upped him.

The following day Sousuke stepped up his game. He had rented one of his uncle’s coolers and brought popsicles. Nothing enticed a kid better than popsicles. At one point Sousuke sold more popsicles than stuffed animals, but who was he to complain? He was getting back his customers. Mackerel Guy’s jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed. Sousuke unwrapped one of the popsicles and smugly ate it. Served him right.

The day after that Mackerel Guy put up a sign, “Free Sketches with Purchase.” Sousuke had to snort. What kind of sketch was he going to give? He supposed it would something cute and fun for the kids, but he doubted they’d be any good if Samezuka-kun and Iwatobi-chan were any indication.

Sousuke was so wrong. So, so wrong. Mackerel Guy would take a few minutes, looking up a few times as he roughly sketched something in his sketch pad and then he was tearing it out and handing it to the customers. One of them squealed, showing it off to her girlfriend as she said something about it. Sousuke squinted, taking a critical look at it.

Shit, it was good. He was  _really_  good. As far as sketches went and Sousuke’s limited knowledge of art, he could tell he clearly had talent. Hell, what didn’t this guy know how to do. Sousuke angrily devoured one of his popsicles.

In the end neither of them had more customers than the other. They had come to a standstill.

-

“Are you lost,” Mackerel Guy said. It wasn’t a question, more like a challenge to confirm what he already suspected.

Sousuke gritted his teeth, refusing to acknowledge him. He stared straight ahead fighting the urge to cheekily reply to him. He chanced a glance behind him just the same, watching as Mackerel Guy raised a brow and cocked his head to the side. Shit it was cute.

“No,” Sousuke said. “I know exactly where I am.”

“Do you really?” Mackerel Guy said blandly. “It looks like you’re lost. You’ve been going in a circle this whole time, you know.”

“What, have you been watching me?”

Mackerel Guy snorted, taking a dainty bite of his sandwich. Sousuke felt annoyance bubble up in him as he took his sweet time to answer him. He took a sip of his water and looked back up at Sousuke.

“It’s kind of hard not to notice you walking around in circles and looking confused as to why you haven’t made any headway.”

“Maybe I wanted to do that, did you consider that?” Sousuke retorted.

Mackerel Guy smiled with a subtle little quirk of his lip that alerted Sousuke that he was eating up the embarrassment Sousuke was radiating. Mackerel Guy looked down at his lunch again before he patted the spot next to him.

“Come sit,” He said. “You can have some of my lunch. Then we’ll walk back together.”

“What’s in it for you?” Sousuke said slowly.  He sat down anyway, ready to lay right down and take a nap, everything else be damned.

Mackerel Guy shrugged. “You reminded me of a friend of mine. His voice was nagging at me to help you.”

“Though,” he said, continuing. “I could have just left you here and taken all your customers with you gone.”

He said it so conspiratorially, with such nonchalance and smugness that Sousuke’s head snapped up to look at him, watching as those cool eyes suddenly burned in mischief and Sousuke’s pulse sped up.  The crinkle of his eyes made Sousuke focus too long on his face, caught off guard by how pretty he was. Sousuke flicked him on his ear, snorting. He turned his face away for good measure. It was safer that way.

“I knew you were evil,” Sousuke said. “Now I have proof.”

“I’d miss having a – rival, though,” Mackerel Guy said.

“Rival, huh?” Sousuke murmured. “I guess that’s a good word for it. What’s your name?”

“…Haruka Nanase,” He said. He offered him one of his sandwiches.

Sousuke took it. “I’m Sousuke Yamazaki.” Sousuke took a bite, frowning as he reluctantly swallowed. “What is with you and mackerel…?”

Haruka didn’t answer, only turning away to finish eating his sandwich as Sousuke shook his head.

-

The next day when he arrived to his area, Sousuke spotted Haruka from the periphery of his vision. Haruka caught his eye, nodding at him. Sousuke nodded back, suddenly awkward at this weird truce they’d just established. He wasn’t sure what to make of it now that he had a real name for him and these annoying feelings suddenly attaching themselves seemingly out of nowhere.

When the aquarium opened, Sousuke’s eyes immediately traveled towards where Haruka was, like they’d been doing ever since he showed up. But now it felt kind of embarrassing to do so. Haruka worked in the same way he always had, subtly stealing his customers though after he handed one of the children an Iwatobi-chan cake he murmured something to them and then pointed to where Sousuke was. Sousuke raised his head from where he was cradling his cheek on his fist.

The kid looked up at Haruka seeming to confirm what he had said to him before grabbing his mother by the hem of her dress and dragging her over to Sousuke.

“Do you really sell jellyfish, mister?” The little boy asked.

Sousuke blinked, taking a moment too soon to answer before snapping to attention. Sousuke rose to his feet beckoning the boy to come around the other side of the stall to show him his multicolored array of jellyfish.

“Yeah, I have them in a bunch of colors,” Sousuke said softly. He’d learned to speak a bit softer to kids after being wrangled into babysitting for Kisumi over the years. “What’s your favorite color?”

“I really like red!” the little boy said.

“Yeah? My best friend’s favorite color is red, too,” Sousuke said.  He reached for one of the stuffed jellyfish. He handed it to the little boy whose eyes seemed to sparkle the moment he took hold of it.

“Look, mama!” The boy said. “It’s so cool looking!”

Sousuke had to cough to clear his throat, suddenly embarrassed as he always was when people complimented the little stuffed animals. He wasn’t about to project that they were handmade, though he wasn’t ashamed of it either. But sometimes the compliments always made him shy. Sousuke reached for a little matching red bracelet with plastic jellyfish adorning the cord as the boy’s mother nodded to him and began pulling out money to hand to Sousuke. He held out the bracelet to her.

“Each purchase gets you a free bracelet,” Sousuke said. “Would you like me to put it on for you?”

The boy’s mother blushed rosy red for a moment, stuttering as the boy held the jellyfish over his head and exclaimed for his mother to accept it. Sousuke clasped it on to her wrist and gently took the money, exact change, and held his hand out for the little boy to high-five him.

“It looks good on you, mama!” The boy said.

His mother flushed through her thanks and took hold of her son’s hand as they went around to continue back inside to where the sharks swam. Across the pavilion he caught Haruka’s eyes again, the same mischievous twinkle in his eyes from yesterday. Sousuke mouthed a “thank you” because he had no idea what else to do.

From then on they simply started to sending customers over to each other’s stalls.

When lunch rolled around again, Sousuke approached Haruka, going for casual as he cleared his throat to get his attention. Haruka raised a brow clearly not buying his act but he didn’t comment on it. Sousuke jabbed his thumb in the general direction of the Aquarium Café at the other end of the park.

“Do you want to get some lunch, Nanase? The café isn’t half bad,” Sousuke asked.

“Afraid to get lost again, Yamazaki?” Haruka teased.

“Shut up!” Sousuke said. “I wasn’t lost. Besides, they have maps here.” He added that last part in a whisper.

“All right, then,” Haruka said. “Lead the way.”

Neither of them commented on the fact that Sousuke kept in line with Haruka and wordlessly adjusted his direction when Haruka made a subtle turn.  They paused only once as they took a short cut just outside the fork in the pathway that lead to the café and to the dolphin exhibit. Sousuke was just about to head over when Haruka’s feet took him down the dolphin’s path.

“Hey, Nanase, where are you going? It’s this way!” Sousuke called.

He didn’t answer, leaving Sousuke to try and catch up to him. When he finally had, Haruka was standing transfixed before the tank, watching the dolphins lazily swimming. Sousuke was about to ask him again what was happening when Haruka’s hand shot down towards his belt, unbuckling it.

“Nanase!” Sousuke almost shrieked. “Stop that!”

Haruka was reaching for his zipper by now, something black poking out from where his pants were beginning to sag. His pants dropped and his button up soon followed. Sousuke had to squint, confused and appalled at the fact that he was wearing jammers under his clothes. Luckily there was no one around, a feat in itself. Haruka stepped up onto the stage, fully prepared to dive in. The dolphins clicked back at him as if they were enticing him to jump in.

“You shut up!” Sousuke hissed. He grabbed Haruka by the back of his jammers, just at the hem and drew him back. His shoulder ached at the sudden jerk but Sousuke only grunted. He slung an arm around Haruka’s shoulders and pulled him back down, quickly collecting his clothes and hauling him off to the nearest bathroom.

“What’d you go and do that for?” Sousuke hissed. “This is a family park! You can’t just go stripping like that!”

Haruka pouted like Sousuke had just stopped him from doing something momentous and reluctantly started putting his clothes back. “I only wanted to swim,” Haruka said quietly, as if Sousuke was simply supposed to understand that.

“Then go find a pool,” Sousuke grumbled.

“The tank was perfectly fine,” Haruka said. He rebuttoned his shirt.

“What are you doing wearing swim clothes underneath your regular clothes anyway?”

Haruka shot him an incredulous, dry look. “To go swimming obviously,” Haruka said.

Sousuke only rolled his eyes, shoving him by the shoulder out of the bathroom and keeping a firm hand on him as they headed back to the path and towards the café. Sousuke wasn’t even sure what he had just gotten himself into.

Lunch passed more smoothly. Though Sousuke kept a firm hand on Haruka on their way back to their stalls afterwards.

-

**_< <Soooo I went to lunch with Mackerel Guy>>_ **

**_< <You serious?? Dang Sousuke you’re a lot more sly than I thought kekeke>>>_ **

**_< <Shut up. I didn’t think this would happen>>_ **

**_< <Lunch today, a date tomorrow. You gonna invite me to the wedding, bro?>>_ **

**_< <As if. I’m giving your obligatory role as my best man to Kisumi>>_ **

**_< <Sousuke! You wound me!>>_ **

Sousuke laughed to himself, setting his phone down. Well, it wasn’t a bad development in things if he were being truthful. Sousuke sat back against his sofa for a little bit longer before he rose to his feet and got ready to head to his parents’ house for dinner. His mother had been rather suspicious of him when he’d made the mistake of letting a bit about Haruka slip. She’d probably told his dad all about it by now which meant they were gonna gang up on him. Sousuke slipped on his jacket, giddy despite the impending embarrassment.

-

Eating with Haruka became a new unforeseen thing for Sousuke. He had expected to always dislike Haruka not feel so at ease with his presence and take lunch breaks with the guy. Technically they were their own bosses; just renting the spaces within the aquarium to set up shop so, interestingly enough they usually took off for lunch around the same time. This time, though, they were going together. After a month of doing so out of habit, Sousuke came to find this to be a routine as well.

Haruka regarded one of the stuffed toys as he waited for Sousuke to finish locking up for lunch. Haruka turned over the little red sea otter in his hands, brows furrowed. He glanced towards Sousuke.

“There’s no tag on these,” Haruka said. “Where do you buy these? They’re kind of cute.”

“I don’t buy them, I make them,” Sousuke said.

Haruka’s eyebrows rose at that. He looked at the sea otter again, its goofy gentle smile and little paws clutching what looked like a little clam against its chest. He looked like he wanted to ask but didn’t know how to.

“My mom is a seamstress,” Sousuke began. “She used to make weddings dresses and the like for a long time. But she’s gotten arthritis in these last few years. I used to always help her sew when I was growing up. My best friend has a little sister so I used to make things for her when her birthday rolled around.”

“Why aren’t you in college?” Haruka asked. He backtracked for a moment. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Naw, its fine,” Sousuke said, surprised at the fact that he truly felt at ease telling Haruka. “I had a scholarship to go to college but it kind of blew through and my parents don’t really have the money to send me, so I’m trying to earn some money for the time being before I apply again. So here I am. I also help out my dad and my uncle at his ice cream shop. So every little helps.”

Haruka put the otter back, nodding slightly. “I see.”

“So what’re you doing here?” Sousuke said, lightly. He took one last look at the stall and then fell into step beside Haruka and nudged him towards the exit of the aquarium. They’d begun eating out together lately. Rin joked that Haruka, still known as Mackerel Guy over their texts, was secretly taking Sousuke out on dates.

“I’m actually from Iwatobi,” Haruka said. “There isn’t an aquarium there and I remember coming here one summer when I was younger with my best friend. Another friend told me that I should try selling my mackerel snacks to make extra money.”

Haruka didn’t like talking about himself much, Sousuke could gather, which was fine by him if he was being honest. He didn’t like talking too much about himself either and he could respect the need to keep details private. Sousuke slid his hands into his pockets. Haruka peeked at him from beneath his bangs.

“Sano is also where I can see dolphins up close without going too far. Dolphins are my favorite. One day, I hope I get to swim with them. But Makoto says I can’t climb into the aquarium to do that.”

Sousuke didn’t question who Makoto was, figuring they were Haruka’s version of Rin. Sousuke snorted all the same, imagining Haruka stripping off to jump into the dolphin tank. He’d probably right at home now that he thought about it. Sousuke bent his head a bit to look Haruka in his eyes.

“So, where do you want to go and eat?” Sousuke said. He narrowed his slightly. “And by that I mean no mackerel.”

Haruka pouted, turning his head away as Sousuke started laughing at him. Sousuke shook his head, shoulders shaking as he stepped a little closer to Haru trying to get his attention. He smiled smugly when Haruka scowled at him.

“I don’t even know why I bother eating with you…Sousuke,” Haruka said, eyes widening in mock hurt as he covered his mouth with his hand like an offended schoolgirl.

Sousuke bit his tongue, nearly tripping over his feet. He had stopped walking, fully aware that Haruka was still walking ahead of him with no intentions of stopping to wait for him. Sousuke looked over at the glass window of a shop to confirm that, yup, his cheeks were as red as they felt.

“If you don’t catch up I’ll leave you behind, Sousuke. How will you get back without me?” Haruka said.

“Shut up,  _H_ … _H-Haruka_ ,” Sousuke hissed, catching up to Haruka with a few quick strides.

Haruka let a shit-eating grin pass over his face as he bumped hips with Sousuke, pressed up into his personal space (not that Sousuke was complaining).  Haruka held out his hand as Sousuke looked between it and Haruka’s face.

“You can hold my hand if you want,” Haruka said. “So you don’t get lost.”

Sousuke shoved him, satisfied with the undignified squawk he made and the annoyed grumble he shot at him. They bickered lowly all the way to the café, though Sousuke had also taken a hold of the hem of the back of Haruka’s shirt,  _just in case_. 

-

 On Monday, Sousuke set up as usual, careful and slow in the same sluggish morning routine of every other day. He began setting up the toys and the bracelets, yawning behind his hand. From the corner of his eye he expected to see Haruka, but his usual spot remained bare. Sousuke shook his head, thinking that maybe he was running late. Haruka was usually good about keeping time, unless distracted by bodies of water, but good nonetheless.

The closer to business hours it go, the more Sousuke felt his insides squirm. He hadn’t gotten Haruka’s phone number, partially out of pride for not seeming like he wanted to hit on him, and partially out of embarrassment that he’d they’d either never text each other, or Sousuke would fuck up and text him something stupid on impulse.

The rest of the day passed with a sign of Haruka. A few customers asked him about it, mistaking the few times they’d been seen together as semblance of a friendship. Sousuke could only shake his head and tell them, “I think he’s sick” to which they’d frown and look saddened by the fact, something Sousuke was trying desperately not to admit to himself. One girl had come specifically to get a portrait from Haruka herself with her boyfriend.

When the next day passed and still no sign of Haruka, Sousuke began to panic. Iwatobi wasn’t that far, not really. But still, it wasn’t as if Sousuke could go wandering around Iwatobi to find him. Another day passed, and then another and another, until people stopped asking where Haruka was but Sousuke couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering to the empty space across the pavilion.

Nearing the end of the second month without any sign of Haruka, Sousuke was bumming around his little flat cradling a soda when his phone went off. It was from Rin, something about watching a video of a guy he’d met at a swim meet and was dying to show Sousuke. Sousuke unlocked his phone and clicked the link to the video. It was a bit shaky, taken obviously with someone’s phone camera and the sound of screaming college boys all around it.

**_< <Bro, check this guy out!! He’s like a monster in the water or something. I got to swim against him! I haven’t felt this fired up since you and I swam together!>>_ **

The quick stinging ache surfaced through Sousuke for a moment, as it sometimes did whenever there anything to be said in passing of him swimming competitively once, alongside Rin, pushing to be the best.  But Sousuke wasn’t known for his luck and youthful foolishness had gotten the best of him, ending that dream. But the past was the past and he was making a new one for himself, slow and steady as it was. The ache was gone as soon as it had come and Sousuke sat back in his sofa, ignoring the dull hum of his TV on whatever action movie he had left it on for background noise. He could make Rin out in one lane; powerful and confident in a way that was purely his that Sousuke would never forget. In the other lane was a slim body, careening through the water like a damn fish in current.

When he and Rin reached one end of the pool Sousuke could almost feel the jolt of the kick off and felt his heart jump as they both took off to the other side. Rin had had momentum from the kick off but the other guy was quickly eating up the distance until he had passed Rin and was touching the other side just mere seconds before Rin had. Sousuke’s heart thudded in his chest as he heard the guys around them hollering and cheering. He saw Rin pulling off his swim cap and goggles, grinning fiercely at the other guy and telling him something Sousuke couldn’t make out. Rin climbed out and another guy appeared to help Rin’s opponent up out of the water.

The guy holding the camera called to Rin and the guy asking them to pose for the video really quick. Rin grabbed the guy by his elbow, caging him into a one-armed hug so characteristic of Rin and grinned toothily. Sousuke’s heart stopped because standing right next to Rin was – Haruka Nanase.

_Haruka Nanase._

Sousuke wiped a hand over his face as he slid down the sofa, boneless. Holy shit, it was Haruka Nanase. As if Sousuke needed any more reason to crush on the guy. Sousuke’s heart stopped again.

 _Shit_. He had said. He had had a crush on Haruka. Fingers shaking slightly he fired off a text to Rin.

 ** _< <He’s not bad, though his turn is a bit sloppy>>_** Sousuke settled for.

Rin’s reply was quick.  ** _< <He’s aiming for the Olympics, too. I can’t wait to face him. You better come and cheer for my ass Sousuke!!>>_**

 ** _< <Wouldn’t miss it for the world>>_** It wasn’t a lie; Sousuke would never miss a chance to see Rin shining like that.

Sousuke hesitated for only a moment before he sent Rin another text.  ** _< <What’s that guy’s name?>>_**

**_< <Oh its, Haruka Nanase>>_ **

_SHIT._

Sousuke saved the video to his phone.

-

The days after the video didn’t leave Sousuke in any state he’d have liked to be in. He’d had crushes before, brief fleeting things on boys and girls in his classes. But he’d always had swimming to keeps him mind geared on. But now with little else than his sewing, Sousuke was becoming increasingly frustrated. He’d stuck himself at least twice already trying to sew up this purple jellyfish and all because he was adding in bits of blue and remembered the perfect hue of Haruka’s eyes. Even at nights now when he tried to sleep, he’d lie awake thinking of Haruka, no longer just limited to his fantasies of him in an apron but swimsuits, too. God, it was so embarrassing.

Sousuke swore under his breath, placing the needle and felt down as he flopped down on his back and threw an arm up over his eyes. He groaned, feeling like a giant pining loser as he wondered when Haruka would be coming back. It was still a good month and a half before swimming season was over, he knew because he kept such good track of Rin’s schedule. It didn’t stop the thoughts of how long it’d be until Haruka would, might come back.

Rin had said in passing that Haruka always went back home when the swimming season was over with a childhood friend because all the attention always made him tired and annoyed. But just because Haruka would go back to Iwatobi once the season was done didn’t mean that he’d necessarily come back to Sano to continue selling his weird “Iwatobi-chan” cakes.

Sousuke rolled over, taking up the needle and felt again and began to diligently sew. About three tentacles in and Sousuke’s mind was wandering to something else.

_“Dolphins are my favorite. One day, I hope I get to swim with them. But Makoto says I can’t climb into the aquarium to do that.”_

Sousuke snorted. Of course he couldn’t. He’d be thrown out and arrested in a heartbeat. He was already reaching for a pencil and paper when the memory had hit him. Wordlessly he drew out the design he wanted, a cartoonish looking dolphin with a star pattern over its eye. It was going to be a bit bigger than he usually did, a lot more cartoony as well, cuter if he could say so himself. Still, he kept the nagging thought “I hope he’ll like it” at the back of his mind, grumbling to himself when it surfaced to the forefront stubbornly.

He worked tirelessly through the night and the next day, since he didn’t go to the aquarium to sell on Sundays at any rate. He messaged Rin a couple pictures of the dolphin as he began putting it together, asking for his opinion since Rin was so shojo he knew he’d give him worthwhile feedback.

**_< <That’s really cute, bro! The kids will love that>>_ **

Sousuke grinned wryly to himself. He had his fingers crossed that Haruka would, too. Training season would be over by the end of the week.

True to form on Friday night, Rin with all his fanboy-ness sent him a passive aggressive message about how Haruka was going home to Iwatobi. Sousuke had been tempted to ask why Rin didn’t just come home to Sano and “accidentally” run into Haruka in Iwatobi, something Rin was good at to say the least, but then he remember his Rin’s mother and sister were coming to spend a month up with him in Tokyo.

**_< <You better come visit soon, stupid Sousuke!>>_ **

Sousuke fished out a champagne colored ribbon from the bin of fabrics and odds and ends his mother had given him and secured it around the dolphin’s neck. Come Monday, he hoped Haruka would be back in his usual spot.

-

“Hey, Nanase, where have you been this whole time?” Sousuke asked, hoping to sound casual enough to not seem like he missed him or anything.

“Swimming. Training season started up again so I had to go back to Tokyo,” Haruka said.

Memories of the video of Haruka flying through the water flashed through Sousuke’s mind. Perspiration broke out on his palms and he hastily shoved them into his pockets. Haruka was obsessed with water as is. If Sousuke hadn’t seen the video Rin had emailed him, he would never believe Haruka had the attention span to do more than float around it.

“Did you miss me…Sousuke?” Haruka said, lip quirked. He tilted his head to the side, exposing a bit of his throat as he regarded Sousuke with a challenging cool expression. Sousuke felt warm just the same, head hot and filled to pop.

“Like hell!” Sousuke retorted. “It was perfect without you here. I took back all my customers.”

Haruka huffed as he tied on his apron and turned on the grill. “It won’t be that way for long, then. Sit for a moment. I want you try to something I’ve been working on.”

“Is it mackerel flavored?” Sousuke asked, slowly.

“No. It’s a cake,” Haruka said, huffing again. “I can cook other things besides mackerel, you know.”

“Do I? All you sell is mackerel. I assumed it was because it was all you knew how to cook,” Sousuke said, sitting down in Haruka’s chair. He watched as Haruka laid out a plate and opened up a small container with only two vanilla frosted cupcakes inside. Sousuke bit down on the feeling that it was made especially for him reluctantly. Haruka placed one of the cakes onto the plate and handed it to Sousuke.

“I used to cook for my childhood friend because he burns everything. Even water,” Haruka said. “Here, tell me how it tastes.”

Sousuke bit into it gingerly, amazed at how good it tasted from the first bite. It wasn’t overly sweet, had a hint of ginger and was soft and melty. Sousuke pushed the whole thing into his mouth with his index finger and ate it down in one gulp. He almost laughed when Haruka’s eyes widened, looking between Sousuke and the plate incredulously.

“It’s not bad, though I’d lay a little bit more off the flour,” Sousuke said. “Add a hint of lemon and it will be perfect.”

“You say that like you can cook,” Haruka retorted, thought he faint smile gave him away. “It was that good?”

Sousuke shrugged, moving to discard the paper plate in a nearby trashcan. “It was. I’ve been told I’m pretty good actually. I’ll cook for you sometime to prove it.”

The smile that broke out on Haruka’s lips was enough to ground Sousuke for a good couple seconds, selfish in his want to drink up the sight. His face felt like it was burning to the point that he had to rub at it with his forearm. Haruka ducked his head, smile peeking out from his fringes as he mumbled, “I’d like that.”

Haruka closed the lid on the other cupcake before he was shoving the container into Sousuke’s chest, resolutely not looking him in the eyes.  Sousuke’s hands brushed Haruka’s as he took the container, fingers curling along the sides as Haruka let his hands drop.

“You might as well take the other one, too,” Haruka said. “But I want my container back, Sousuke.”

“So you did make them for me,” Sousuke said, cheekily. “I’m honestly really flattered, H-Haruka. I guess the real question is did you miss  _me_?”

Haruka jabbed Sousuke in the stomach with his bony finger, looking thoroughly displeased like a wet cat even with the light pink across his face. Sousuke huffed a laugh under his breath. Sousuke put the container under his arm as he tugged at Haruka’s sleeve towards his own stall. Haruka walked close to him, their shoulders brushing until Sousuke was pushing him gently to sit on the little stool by the register.

“Actually, I have something for you, too,” Sousuke said. “I, uh, made it while you were away. I was struck with the idea and I figured you’d be the best test subject to try it out.”

He put the cupcake into a little bag under the register and pulled out a blue dolphin with a champagne ribbon tied securely around the neck. Sousuke absently brushed it off, fingers gripping into the soft material to try and not give away how nervous he was for Haruka’s reaction. He pressed the bottle-nose against Haruka’s.

“Here, this is for you.”

Haruka took hold of the dolphin, pressing it against his chest as the dolphin’s nose rested against his neck. A dark blue star shaped pattern was around one shiny black eye and there was a soft indentation to what Haruka figured was the blowhole. Haruka ran his hands down the soft plush, impressed by how thorough and seamless it felt. Every part of it felt soft to the touch. Haruka ducked his head again; annoyed at how easily Sousuke could embarrass him, how easily Haruka was letting him do so. He absently fiddled with the ribbon. Sousuke shifted uncertainly.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Sousuke asked.

“No! I love it,” Haruka said. “Did you really make it?”

“Well, yeah. I told you, I learned from my mom,” Sousuke said, scratching his cheek. “It’s my first time making one that big and in that design. It’s a bit more cartoonish than I’m used to.”

“It’s perfect. The kids will really love it. I really love it,” Haruka said. “Thank you, Sousuke.”

Sousuke cleared his throat, feeling a blush start to rise up his neck and settle almost permanently on his cheeks. Haruka buried his face into the dolphin before a thought popped into his head. He looked up at Sousuke from underneath his lashes, giddy with the knowledge that doing so made Sousuke fidget more and blush harder. Haruka smiled slowly as he stood up from the stool and stepped closer to him.

“Actually, I know what I’m going to name him,” Haruka said.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Sousuke said, attempting to stay casual, though the slight shy tremor in his voice gave him away.

Haruka shot him a cheeky grin, tinged by the pink of his cheeks. “I’m calling him  _Sou-chan_.”

Sousuke shoved Haruka away as he ducked away to the other side of the stall. Haruka glanced around the display of jellyfish and sea turtles to where Sousuke was standing with his back to him, ears turning red. “Don’t ever talk to me again. I never want to see you again,” Sousuke said.

Haruka only laughed lightly.

-

 _Bonus_ :

Rin rolled over when he felt his phone vibrate behind him. The screen said he had received a message from Sousuke, a photo by the look of it. He quickly unlocked his phone and nearly dropped it in the same breath. Seated across Sousuke’s lap in the picture, strangely angled as it was, was Haruka Nanase, cradling that dolphin that Sousuke had been toiling over for the past few weeks and sending to Rin for his critique. Haruka, looking bored and mischievous all at once, was flashing a peace sign with one hand as Sousuke pushed his head into the crook of his neck with a hand nestled in his hair, not that he looked like he needed tempting anyway. Sousuke was grinning cheekily at the camera, a bit of his thumb at the corner of the picture from where he was holding it up with his other hand.

 ** _< <Thanks for your help, RinRin>>_** the caption read. Rin hurriedly began typing.

**_< <Are you telling me this whole time you’ve been having tension with Haruka Nanase??>>_ **

**_< <Since when did you become this close?? How long has this been happening??>>_ **

**_< <Why didn’t you bother telling me?? Some best friend you are!>>_ **

**_< <STOP IGNORING MY TEXTS>>_ **

**_< <SOUSUKE.>>_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Finally made an A03. I will still primarily upload to my tumblr account, but I won't mind uploading anything here on request.  
> please find me at cheshire-ree.tumblr.com if you wanna chat!  
> I'm warning you now, I don't know how to title well which is why I rarely title them on tumblr. It took me the better part of thirty minutes for this wonderful one lmaoo
> 
> The original link/posting is here! ----> http://cheshire-ree.tumblr.com/post/118491131603/souharu-the-youre-that-shitty-mackerel-vendor


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